World Premiere

Thursday,

March 17,

8–9 PM

Part One

In this hour, viewers are introduced to the newbies – the new members of the Blue Angels team – as they begin the rough-and-tumble climb to becoming a Blue Angel.   The show follows the newbies through their arduous training program in El Centro, Calif., and on through preparation for their first air show.  Viewers are also introduced to the other members of the team and witness how all the critical elements come together to create what many believe to be the finest flight demonstration squad in the world. 

World Premiere

Thursday,

March 17,

9–10 PM 

Part Two

In this hour, viewers are guided through every aspect of the creation of the 45-minute spectacle – “the demo” – that this team has been assembled to perfect and perform throughout the country.  As the main element of the Blue Angel’s air show, the demo is both a symbolic and literal piece of the Blue Angels team.  Viewers will learn about the actual maneuvers that make up the demo, while also learning a lesson in the evolution of the Blue Angels formation. 

World Premiere

Friday,

March 18

8–9 PM

Part Three

During this hour, viewers witness life on the road with the Blue Angels team as they begin their 2004 air show season.  As the team moves from city to city, viewers learn about all the details and planning that go into putting on an amazing show for the fans, regardless of the changing environments, weather and technical issues that constantly challenge the team. 

World Premiere

Friday,

March 18

9–10 PM

Part Four

In the final hour, the transformation of each Blue Angels team member comes full circle and it’s time for the cycle to begin again, with new pilots and team members.  But just before the team returns to their home base in Pensacola, Fla., Hurricane Ivan strikes the Gulf Coast and the team members must revert to their Navy and Marine Corps roots to provide relief to their stricken community.  In the end, the Blue Angels deliver the most astounding air show of the season on their home turf. 

World Premiere

Friday, March 11

8-9 PM

Artillery

Artillery is generally a term used for weaponry launched by a controlled explosion and can include missiles with sophisticated rockets and guidance systems.  This episode focuses on variations on guns and looks at the range of sizes, uses and platforms. The military breaks down basic artillery in three major groups: guns, mortars and howitzers.  Viewers learn about the most cutting-edge weaponry in these categories—the mini, the mighty and the mega.

World Premiere

Tuesday, March 1

8-9 PM

[TV-PG]

Counterstrike

History is full of examples of small armies that have turned the tide of battle by a brilliant counterstrike, and large armies that reacted improperly and have been defeated.  This program takes a look at some of the most ingenious counterstrikes in history and reveals why they were so effective, including the classic 1914 Tannenberg counterstrike by the famous partnership of Generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff, and the Russian Counterstrike against Hitler's Operation Barbarossa, which saved Moscow in winter 1941. The program also examines failed counterstrikes and their consequences, such as Rommel's Afrika Korps attempted 1941 counterstrike against the Allies' Operation Crusader to relieve Tobruk in the North Africa desert, and Israel’s botched counterstrike after the Egyptian assault across the Suez Canal on Yom Kippur, 1973.    

World Premiere

Tuesday, March 15

8-9 PM

[TV-PG]

Siege

This program looks at the history of the battle plan of siege and reveals how increasingly elaborate weapons, such as gunpowder and the development of formidable artillery, have led to ever more ingenious methods to break a siege and brought about a fundamental change in the nature of siege warfare. In some cases, the aim of a siege is simply to hold out and thus deny the enemy victory, whether it is a whole city such as Leningrad in 1941, or a specific point such as Khe Sanh in 1968.  In other cases, commanders have tried to use siege as an offensive tactic, to draw the enemy into an exhausting and ultimately fatal confrontation -- but the risks of this tactic can be great, as the French discovered at Dien Bien Phu in 1953.

North American Premiere

Tuesday, March 1

9-9:30 PM

[TV-PG]

Fall of Singapore

In the fall of 1941, the Japanese Imperial Army set its expansionist gaze on the impregnable British colony of Singapore.  It was a key component in Japan's quest for control of the Pacific.  For the British, it was a defeat as great as Pearl Harbor.

North American Premiere

Tuesday, March 1

9:30-10 PM

[TV-PG]

Battle of Malta

As Italy entered the war in June 1941, its first target became the British-held island of Malta.  This tiny rock in the Mediterranean was the most bombed country of World War II.   But the Maltese were not going to give in, nor were the British.  

North American Premiere

Tuesday, March 8

9-9:30 PM

[TV-PG]

Monte Cassino

As Allied forces fought their way up through Italy on the way to Rome, they encountered heavily fortified German positions on the Gustav line. One disastrous stumbling block was an ancient hilltop monastery called Monte Cassino.  The resulting carnage made this a brutal engagement no soldier would ever forget. 

North American Premiere

Tuesday, March 8

9:30-10 PM

[TV-PG]

Battle in Palau

As the United States prepared for the invasion of the Philippines, scheduled for late 1944, the tiny Palau Islands had to be taken first. The well-entrenched Japanese were ready to fight to the last man. It was a bloody campaign with heavy losses on both sides. 

North American Premiere

Tuesday, March 15

9-9:30 PM

[TV-PG]

Operation Mercury

After British forces withdrew in defeat from Greece to the island of Crete in early 1941, they were soon fighting German invasion armies again.  This time, 5,000 of Hitler's elite paratroopers landed to complete their conquest in the Mediterranean.   This was the largest and most ambitious airborne operation to date.  It was a dangerous campaign for both the British and the Germans. 

North American Premiere

Tuesday, March 15

9:30-10 PM

[TV-PG]

Commerce Raiders

The maritime theater of World War II saw a new and deceitful threat in Allied merchant shipping lanes – the commerce raiders. These heavily armed vessels disguised as ordinary cargo ships patrolled the Allied waters, sinking supply boats, stealing their contents and imprisoning any survivors.  The British navy had to do something to insure the safe passage of supply convoys.

North American Premiere

Tuesday, March 22

9-9:30 PM

[TV-PG]

Fall of Berlin

In 1945, Hitler's armies were pushed back from the eastern front to their homeland by vengeful Russian troops, now Allied with the Western forces.  To all outward appearances, this battle was futile.  But German soldiers fought fiercely to maintain a defensive stronghold in their capital of Berlin.  The last of their war-torn cities became the battlefront!                             

North American Premiere

Tuesday, March 22

9:30-10 PM

[TV-PG]

Mt. Belvedere

In 1944, as American troops marched into the heart of Italy, they endured many casualties from heavy German resistance.  One of the greatest obstacles was at gothic line.  U.S. forces needed help to break through the German defenses.  Help came in an unlikely form – a battalion of Japanese Americans.  While America fought the Japanese in the Pacific, some Japanese fought for America in Europe.